America: The Grim Truth

By reducing the cost of our defense by a third, we would still be far ahead of the rest of the world combined, and would be able to pay for every
americans healthcare and education. Its not about just adding health costs to our taxes, its about changing our priorities.

No America doesn't suck, but their health care does. If you look at health statistics of the world the U.S. isn't anywhere near the top, when, in
all due respect, the world super-power should be leading, and setting an example.

Pred...

I truly believe that as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, an individuals experience with health care is the same. I have been to hospitals all
around the country for a myriad of different reasons. Sometimes for my friends or family, sometimes for freak incidents where I was severely injured.
Never have I had a bad experience. Never have I ever had any problem getting in to see a specialist when needed. I even have nothing bad to say about
the nurse staff at the various medical facilities Ive visited.

Now, Im sure some paranoid jerk is going to call me a "disinfo agent," just because Im going against the grain on this issue. But believe it or not,
I DONT work for the health care industry, nor do I have any stakes in their business dealings, nor do I have anyone in my family that is in the health
care profession.

That being said, I am a human being, and I do feel for my fellow brothers and sisters out there who are struggling to make ends meet and have problems
paying for their health insurance. Anyone who could see their neighbor suffer and not feel for them probably has a few issues of their own...

Yet... I dont pity someone who complains about their health care. The United States is a capitalist country, we reward those who study hard and work
hard, and you could say those who dont... eventually will suffer. Of course there are the rare individuals who are fortunate enough to be born into
immense wealth, and never have to work a day in their lives. Those are the people I truly feel sorry for, to me they're missing out on what life is
about, the satisfaction of working to achieve goals, and relishing the accomplishments of a hard days work.

The only people I know of who don't have health care, and have problems seeing doctors, paying bills etc... are the people who didnt give a rats ass
about working hard. Whether it was on homework or at the work place, it matters little. The greatest thing about this country is the notion that
anyone can be born with nothing, and die successful. This is only achieved through HARD work and due diligence. It is easy to take off from work
early, it is easy to let someone else do the tough job, it is easy to call in sick just because you were out all night and woke up hung over.

Anyone who puts in long hours and tries their best to always do a good job will eventually find success in this country. It is nearly impossible to
fail. And, of course with success comes luxuries, such as having the best medical care, and never having to wait 16 hours in an ER. It also means not
having to worry about paying for that surgery the docs say you need immediately.

Other countries may have a better system on average, but who really cares about averages? They aren't realistic. I'd rather work hard, make it in
this life, and never worry about health care. You should all strive for the same.

If our health care system was so bad, why would people risk their lives to cross our borders illegally, just to get treated by American Dr.'s? I mean
health care in this country is already free for those who cannot afford it. Every low income area Ive seen has free clinics on every major street. And
of course, since we cannot turn people away, regardless if they have insurance or can pay their bill, often illegal immigrants have babies, or have
surgeries, and never pay their bills. This causes the honest people's insurance to skyrocket, and even puts hospitals out of business.

So freedom for you is carrying a gun??! And why do you need to carry a gun? Because of crime or just for being cool? I really dont see what guns has
to with freedom. If you need a gun to defend your freedom, you are not free IMO.

Every truly free nation must be armed.... Even Ghandi stated, and I quote...

Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the act of depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.
Gandhi

You don't want to have weapons?... that's your choice, but don't demand of others to give up their right to own, and bear arms, and don't play the
self-righteous with us....

The Constitution of the United States gives ALL Americans the righ to own, and bear arms....and that right is even more important than the right to
free speech simply because without the right to bear arms governments can become dictatorships and can take away other rights...

People like you are ignorant, and oblivious to history, and how free people have had to defend their freedoms with weapons...

This will ALWAYS be true no matter how many self righteous Liberals would like to claim otherwise....

Now while I agree with the sentiment that Australia isn't as rosy as the OP makes it out to be (IMO it's still better than the current state of the
US at the moment), the above quote is possibly the most ridiculous reasoning I have ever seen.

No water? Yes, it's true that some parts of Australia have been under water restrictions recently due to a long-lasting drought, it never impacted us
Aussies more than not being allowed to wash cars on weekdays and watering gardens could only be done after 4pm - that sort of thing. They have also
very recently lifted those restrictions.

Weird animals? Wow, what a bigoted comment. To us Aussies, they are unique and beautiful wildlife. Your comment only shows your lack of understanding
about the world around you and your place in it.

Fierce firestorms? Yes, this is true we have some whopping big bushfires every few years here but we have one of the most well equipped firefighting
services in the world , using the latest technology and residents who live in the areas that are prone to fires are well versed in evacuation and
survival tactics.

I find your comment on Australia extremely ignorant, lacking in ANY knowledge about the country. I am also somewhat mildly offended, or I would be if
I weren't shaking my head at yet another ignorant comment from yet another ignorant American.

I having lived and worked abroad can agree to an extent to what the article is saying.

People have said that quality of life is subjective, which I agree but when an international organization performed a survey on quality of life and
happiness around the world, based upon that day's experiences , the top 10 were predominately European.

No, Im not against guns. But I dont see the connection between freedom and the right to carry a gun on an everyday basis. Its not like someone will
come and take your freedom away the second you have to leave your gun at home. Guns in every pocket does NOTHING to promote freedom.

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Let's see... I have a 3rdworld life style, a slave to the corporations, and don't live as well as a taxi driver in Singapore....OK.

I do have a house on five acres, own..not mortaged... but own the 45 acres of timberland/farm behind me, own land in a neighboring county, have a
place at the coast on the intracoastal waterway of NC...paid for, have a daughter in college who will graduate in another 3 semesters with honors,
only owe on my truck...the car is paid for.

Yeah, sounds like you are right... my life sucks.

If I am not mistaken the minute that you don't or cannot pay the taxes on any of those homes or vehicles, you'll find out who really owns them. That
is if you pay any property taxes in the state your in. If I'm not mistaken our education curriculum that we have here was designed and bought and
paid for by the very same people who run the IRS, meaning our education system seems to go a good job at turning out taxpayers who never really own
anything, just getting themselves further in debt. Again if I'm not mistaken the minute you put a license plate on your vehicle technically that is
like a certificate of ownership declaring that the state your in owns your vehicle. Your true title of ownership was forfeited at the DMV (with your
consent) in an exchange for the plates.

I'm just saying this to say, if we have to pay taxes on everything that we own, when do we ever really own it? You pay 300k for a house, fall into
hard times as many Americans have and are right now... watch the value of the house plummet, dare you take out a second sub-prime mortgage with insane
"derivatives" secretly built into that spiral beyond your means, combined with not being able to pay the taxes that might be 3k, and there you have
it.. If the state can come and take your home for 3k, while you spent 300k on it , how much is it really worth?

Many Americans can agree that they're not happy with the way America is turning out, it was like a great idea turned into a very bad sick experiment
for many. The sad part is not many Americans have anything else to compare their lives to in terms of living for a while in another country, so again
ignorance is bliss. Very hard to know something that you've never had an exposure to. I think that too was the original posters point.

Not meaning to attack you personally, I'm just saying the response you gave seemed to just strike me one of what is almost a typical Americans
attitude, as long as I have my TV remote, my Ford F150 and a few beers, everything is fine..(forgive the hypothetical), when it isn't fine. Something
is wrong with this "American Dream" we've all been sold. Things are not as they seem. Property ownership seems to be an illusion. Job security
seems to be an illusion. Wealth seems to be an illusion. In fact "Democracy" seems to be just an illusion, it looks awesome on paper but is seldom
practiced as it should be. "Freedom" seems to be just an illusion. Equality...seems to be just an illusion. Human rights..seem to be just an
illusion (take your pick on examples for this one right here on USA soil.)

As beautiful as some aspects are about America, it's broken and it needs to be seriously fixed. Are some places worse, yes I'm sure. America seems
to be getting worse, not better, it's like things have been going in the wrong direction since the creation of the federal reserve, and the birth of
the "military-industrial-complex". I know it's demise was thought out long before that though. What we are seeing today are the manifestations of
such plans of demise. The "symptoms" of "being ill" with "capitalism".

A Filipino friend of mines told me that she saw millionaires go broke over night when the value of the currency of their country died. Landowners lost
everything when the currency switched. With all of this talk about our dollar collapsing by 2012, I wonder how will that affect America as well?

No, Im not against guns. But I dont see the connection between freedom and the right to carry a gun on an everyday basis. Its not like someone will
come and take your freedom away the second you have to leave your gun at home. Guns in every pocket does NOTHING to promote freedom.

Why do you americans feel that you have to carry a gun all the time?

I'm one of those people that do carry a gun literally everyday, every time I leave the house. Now ask me why?...... Ok you asked why I'm
guessing...lol. Here is why. Depending on where you live in America? Yeah a simple walk to the corner store can put you life at risk. I have a friend
named William, went to the corner store to literally get some soda and a few candy bars. A robbery occurred at the store he was in. The robber asked
him for his watch , he complied, robber asked him for his necklace, a gold chain he complied and handed it over, robber then asked for his wallet,
without hesitation he handed that over too, then raised both of his hands in the air striking the normal "Hey I'm being stuck up pose".

The robber walked away a few steps and stopped and turned back around and looked at my friend and said to him " Oh, you think you're one of those
bad asses don't you?" William without ever making a threatening gesture was puzzled and said "No, man...not at all." The robber said "Oh..."
then proceeded to shoot William point blank six times in the stomach.

William was a golden gloves boxer and was in great physical shape and his abs took most of the damage, fell to the ground but survived. When you hear
about something like this happening on the news and TV that is one thing, but when you know someone that this has happened to it takes on a whole
different perspective.

Another friend of mines was riding with a guy who parked a car at a so called friends house, and told my friend hey if you need to move the car go
ahead it's fine. So the driver who my friend was riding with got out left the keys in the car, my friend hopped in the drivers seat expecting to move
the car because of parking violations etc. Well sitting right there for only a few moments, some guy..walked up on the car in a hurry, pulled out a
.357 magnum and emptied it into my friend body while he was sitting behind the wheel of this so called friends car. Apparently this was meant for the
driver who got out and the shooter only knew the car. My friend had no idea who this guy was and is the type of guy that wouldn't hurt a fly. He now
lives with a bag he has to manually empty for his stomach was destroyed.

That is just two incidents, I could go on and on. I myself went to a bathroom in a public building and some stranger approached me from behind and
stuck a gun to the back of my right ear, looking for someone who had attacked him from behind and ran down the corridor where the bathroom I was in
was. He asked me where was he..I said "I have no idea who you are talking about, I came in here to use the bathroom and I was almost finished until
you came in like this." I never looked back at him as seconds felt like hours..finally he pulled the gun away from my head ran out the door and i
never looked at him.

I have been jumped by three guys just coming home walking in downtown Newark, NJ. I sent one of them to the hospital, just a few punches and a very
well placed kick, the other two carried him off unconscious. This was before I carried a gun.

To continue, I was changing a tire on the NJ Turnpike when a white male passing me by on the freeway whom I have never seen or met before in my life
fired a shot from a pistol directly at my head but he missed. He was traveling on a straight away and I had a rifle in my trunk. The thought never
occurred to me to pull it out and lite the back of that van up, I was too busy in shock trying to wrap my head around this fact: "Here I am trying to
change a tire so I can get home to my family..and here is someone who wants to, tries to, take my life.... and I have done nothing to him at
all.Wow.......". That was in the north, in the south I was tear gassed at a gospel show!! Same scenario except it was a few white males.

It just makes you shake your head at how sick some people are.

I am sad to say my friend that these have been my experiences. These are the incidents that have shaped me into to what I am today. We all are the sum
of our experiences.

So to answer your question, carrying a gun doesn't automatically block bullets, no it doesn't. It just evens things out just a bit. These are just
some of the reasons why I carry one. "Protection, Self -Preservation, to help possibly save the life of another especially (but, not limited to)
loved ones. Basically defensively only.

I do understand that crime is high over there, and I can understand the need for a gun as it is right now. But something is wrong when you need a gun
to feel safe.

Ive been to California, so I've seen a little bit of how it can be. I found it shocking that a industrialized nation in the western world had so much
violence, crime and poverty.

But I still dont see the connection between guns and freedom. From where I stand the easy access to guns limits the freedom. Everyone has them, you
can get shot for looking in the wrong direction. Guns will perhaps make the everyday life a bit safer, but its only short term solution.

And I find it kinda funna so many say that guns equals freedom because you need them to defend yourself from the other dude with a gun. It nullifies
the argument.

Freedom for me is to able to walk where I want without having to bring my personal arsenal to feel safe.

I don't want to sell my soul to some corporation so I can have this American ideal of success and happiness. I don't need lots of stuff because I
have lots of time.

I work enough to pay my way. The difference is in America you have to work a hell of a lot harder to pay your way then I do here and still have the
most valuable commodity of all; TIME.

I have never really cared about material success as long as I can eat, pay the bills and fund my hobbies I am happy. I can do that here and still have
lots of time to do the things that bring me joy. I couldn't do whilst is I lived in America, I had to work a hell of alot harder, and use a hell of
lot more hours to have relatively the same level (money wise) of life I do here. This isn't because of government handouts, I don't get any.

I think we are getting too defensive on what is an opinion.

The bottom line is, us in the west have the opportunity to change our lives if we are unhappy, Don't like America? Get a plan together, move. Don't
like the UK? Europe is your Oyster!

The world will be better place when we stop believing corporate lies that the stuff they are selling will bring you happiness..It's a viscious circle
they have a large porportion of the world in...Work hard for the companies who make the overpriced stuff they tell us we need to be happy.

My Father left Europe to make a life in the USA he was sure it would be just like the movies where everyone has a nice house, family, well paid jobs
and plenty of quality time.

The reality he found is very different. He did the same job in the US as he had done in Europe but had to do 50+ hours a week to earn the same amount
of money. He went to work and got fired one day just because business had slowed down! He said most Americans could only dream of having 5-6 weeks
paid holiday a year (A priveledge Europeans take for granted). He knew of friends who needed to remortgage their house because they got sick.

Needless to say he moved back to Europe nearly 10 years ago with his American wife. They have split now but she has also vowed never to go back to the
USA now she's seen how we live over here.

It is an Eye opener and talking to American ex-pats near where I live, they all say the same! Life is tough in states for an average Joe. Being
patriotic and loving your country for patriotisms sake is daft! Especially when your and your childrens wellbeing is at stake.

..........its not the end of america. What truth? Where are your facts?...oh...the facts you use from a conspiracy theory?.......if there really is
alien life, they are not letting themselves known...because they see how big of idiots the human race is.

To move to a new land, you would have to understand the culture, language and mores of the people in order to fit in and feel at home.

Eh? You have to be kidding! Do you see any immigrants in any country doing that? Wish they did, but they don't. Most make no attempt to fit in and
simply import their culture and expect the indigenous population to capitulate.

Unfortunately in most countries we are so PC that we do capitulate and start losing our own identity.

I do understand that crime is high over there, and I can understand the need for a gun as it is right now. But something is wrong when you need a gun
to feel safe.

Ive been to California, so I've seen a little bit of how it can be. I found it shocking that a industrialized nation in the western world had so much
violence, crime and poverty.

But I still dont see the connection between guns and freedom. From where I stand the easy access to guns limits the freedom. Everyone has them, you
can get shot for looking in the wrong direction. Guns will perhaps make the everyday life a bit safer, but its only short term solution.

And I find it kinda funna so many say that guns equals freedom because you need them to defend yourself from the other dude with a gun. It nullifies
the argument.

Freedom for me is to able to walk where I want without having to bring my personal arsenal to feel safe.

That'd be great,except the government can't regulate "morality",and there will always be those that want to take advantage of weakness in
others,and those who have no qualms about shooting people.

Haven't you heard the expression:"When guns are outlawed,only outlaws will have guns"?

From another angle,if you were out in the woods and being attacked by a bear,what would you rather have,someone throwing rocks at it or someone with a
gun who could put it down and save your life?

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Let's see... I have a 3rdworld life style, a slave to the corporations, and don't live as well as a taxi driver in Singapore....OK.

I do have a house on five acres, own..not mortaged... but own the 45 acres of timberland/farm behind me, own land in a neighboring county, have a
place at the coast on the intracoastal waterway of NC...paid for, have a daughter in college who will graduate in another 3 semesters with honors,
only owe on my truck...the car is paid for.

Yeah, sounds like you are right... my life sucks.

Your own argument defeats itself. Your obviously more wealthy than the average inner city wallmart employee by a factor of 1000 just based on the real
estate you own. The simple fact is the majority of jobs in america are low paying retail, fast food type jobs that pay minimum wage which is not
increasing to keep pace with increasing cost of living expenses. I'm sure if you have land and cars and paid college tuition then your just happy as
can be with the status quo. This isn't about you. This is about the erosion of the middle class.

Hi there, you are right...that is why I pay my taxes. And then I use the roads to get to the park and pass by the fire department, or ride the
ferry... all paid with tax money. Taxes are not bad to a point, but over taxing with no representation is a different matter. Before further
commentary, I will await the Nov. elections to chart my next course of action.

Anyway, I spend my money that I work for on the things I like.... we don't watch TV and we don't have satellite. I do listen to radio and read
books. We farm...for fun we work..but I like it, cutting wood and raising livestock, breeding and selling animals, fresh veggies, we work hard and
stay healthy.

You can live however you want, please consult a previous post here explaining how. However, if the USA doesn't suit your needs , I suggest moving.
Or, I suppose you could fix things...just how do you realistically propose that? What is your definition of a fixed USA?

Some may say I'm too materialistic, not really...however, the ones that say they are not materialistic are complaining because they can't be
materiallistic too...lol. The NWO...TPTB..the Illuminati...da' man keepin' me down... they are all excuses for some tough breaks, bad luck, and lack
of opportuity for some.

I believe we all have opportunities if we try hard enough. Trust me, I have been down and know what it's like to be hungry and cold...I didn't like
it a bit. That's why I do what I can to make extra money, when I can, and I always have a garden, and I always cut firewood.

If I lost it all tommorow, I would be fine...I have and came back stronger. Once you know how to live poor, it doesn't scare me anymore. The key is
knowing how to pull yourself back up...

Look at what our grand parents went through with the Depression...you think it was easy feeding a large family, no car, getting up at 5am and doing
chores just so you could walk 5 miles to the saw mill...work 8-10 hours, walk back home...farm behind a mule till dusk... then finsh feeding the
animals, getting in wood for the evening and next morn, drawing up water from a well with a bucket, mending clothes by oil lamp and eating beans and
corn bread...maybe a rabbit or chicken if lucky...just so you could get back up and do it again. You look at your kids with no shoes and hope that it
rains so you'll have a good crop and can pay all the bills...so your oldest can get shoes and then pass down the others to the next in line? how
about Xmas, all your kids get is maybe some apples, oranges, nuts, maybe some hard candy and a whistle or a second hand rag doll.... we don't know
hard yet. There were millions wandering this country homeless and destitute...and yes, we are headed in that direction...

so quit whinning, tighten your belt, suck it up...and enjoy today because it might not be here tommorow. Make the most of today...enjoy life. follow
every opportunity, and when the botttom falls out, use what you've learned to face the challenges ahead, others have done it, some of you are doing
it, I have done it... so there, take that...yuhnnn...LOL

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